ent valley, and met the souls of the mothers of all
countries, who had come there, like me, to mourn ... and our tears
were very hot, and very bitter ... for we knew that it was the Valley
of Lost Childhood!

CHAPTER IV

PICTURES

Nothing is lost that our memories hold,
Nothing forgotten that once we knew;
And to-day a boy with curls of gold
Is running my fond heart through and through--
In and out and round and round--
And I find myself laughing without a sound
At the funny things he said that time
When life was one glad nursery rhyme.

It should not be so hard for mothers to give up their children. We
should grow accustomed to it, for we are always losing them. I once
had a curly-haired baby with eyes like blue forget-me-nots, who had a
sweet way of saying his words, and who coined many phrases which are
still in use in my family. Who is there who cannot see that
"a-ging-a-wah" has a much more refreshing sound than "a drink of
water"? And I am sure that nobody could think of a nicer name for the
hammer and nails than a "num and a peedaw." At an incredibly early age
this baby could tell you how the birdies fly and what the kitty says.

All mothers who have had really wonderful children--and this takes us
all in--will understand how hard it is to set these things down in
cold print or even to tell them; for even our best friends are
sometimes dull of heart and slow of understanding when we tell them
perfectly wonderful things that our children did or said. We all know
that horrible moment of suspense when we have told something real
funny that our baby said, and our friends look at us with a dull
is-that-all expression in their faces, and we are forced to supplement
our recital by saying that it was not so much what he said as the way
he said it!

Soon I lost the blue-eyed baby, and there came in his place a sturdy
little freckle-faced chap, with a distinct dislike for water as a
cleansing agent, who stoutly declared that washing his hands was a
great waste of time, for they were sure to get dirty again; which
seems to be reasonable, and it is a wonder that people have not taken
this fact into account more when dealing with the griminess of youth.
Who objected to going to church twice a day on the ground that he
"might get too fond of it." Who, having once received five cents as
recompense for finding his wayward sister, who had a certain
proclivity for getting lost, afterwards